CMLL Super Viernes Review

You may recall that I was very mean towards this CMLL Super Viernes show in my preview yesterday. In my defense, the show looked like complete shit on paper and most of this show was, in fact, complete shit in the end. Of course it also had the best CMLL match of 2019 to this point, but how was I supposed to know that was going to happen when CMLL had it as a Lightning Match?! Alright enough excuses. Let’s get into the CMLL show that somehow wound up being good because it’s best match was that damn good.

Hijo del Signo & Metálico defeated Arkalis & Magnus two falls to one

YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!

I fear it may be awhile before we use those gifs on a Friday again sports fans so let’s enjoy it, while also enjoying the great Magnus. I spent much of this match marveling at how much better he was than everyone else involved and feeling sad that he was stuck in this going nowhere bout. Other than unfortunately taking the Signo Canadian Destroyer he was on point, looking impressive even without any cool tricks. As much as I love Flyer, I guarantee you Magnus would do just as well (if not better) if given the same shot. Alas he’s doomed to matches like this, where Arkalis isn’t allowed to do anything and both Metálico and Signo are sleepwalking. There weren’t any major screw ups, but other than Magnus there was nothing remotely interesting either. So I guess it was an improvement over the usual! Boring opener either way.

I’ll give these six this much; I expected next to nothing
from this match and for a brief moment it actually looked like they were going
to pull off a good match. They didn’t quite get there, thanks to a really
abrupt ending and Drone and Virus having communication issues on a Vertebreaker
of all moves. Even with that though this was at least respectable. Misterioso
and Sagrado tried a little bit more than usual, Virus was solid and all three
technicos had a good night, with Fuego especially looking like he was trying to
prove something. And why wouldn’t he be seeing as CMLL seems destined to bury
him in the desert somewhere. A respectable effort that didn’t quite have enough
to reach the next level.

You know how I barely even covered this match in the preview? What happened tonight is why. At its best this match was as dull as the first Star Trek movie. At its worst (aka the end) it was an incompetent mess where everyone was out of place, out of sight and out of mind. This sucked and spending any more time on it then necessary is a grave mistake. Let’s move on.

Titán defeated Cavernario two falls to one

There are not many things in life that are perfect sports fans. Off the top of my head the only things I can think of are Uncharted 2, Willa Holland, the last 30 seconds of Taking Back Sunday’s “A Decade Under the Influence”, Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Atlantis vs. Villano III. This match here was just about on that level.

Holy shit dude. First off, congrats to CMLL for actually realizing a Lightning Match was shortchanging these guys and giving Titán and Cavernario all the time in the world to work their magic. This was no standard three fall singles match in CMLL; the first fall went long, the second fall went long and the third fall went really long. These guys got the opportunity to do everything they wanted and they nailed it. Not a second was wasted in this match; there was great action, great storytelling, impeccable selling (is there a luchador in CMLL who sells better than Titán?) and the usual outstanding drama. It was the perfect fusion of Cavernario’s borderline classics with Soberano Jr. and Dragón Lee last year and Titán’s classics with Mephisto; the only difference is Titán was allowed to be victorious for the first time I can ever remember. In the end it didn’t really matter who won because my Grodd; THIS MATCH! I’m sure CMLL will have a match that comes close to challenging it later this year but I’m not sure anything is topping this. This was an out of this world match, a MOTYC if there ever was one and something you need to sit down and watch immediately.

It might be that the last match had me in such a good mood but holy hell; this was actually a semi-enjoyable match! Did Titán and Cavernario just save this feud just by having a classic before it to put us all in a better mood? In fairness the match was also helped by only going two falls, some surprisingly decent sequences between Diamante Azul and Gil Muertes (who finally looked a bit more like Mil instead of Gil tonight) and Bestia not killing Ángel de Oro on his Cuerno Driver. They kept it brief, kept it fast, for the most part kept it smooth and as a result this match was actually pretty solid. I’m still not excited in the slightest to see Oro/Roja vs. Bestia/Terrible at H2L but this was at least a step forward instead of backwards.

Let me tell you sports fans; if this Televisa deal is now going to lead to their being pyro for all the main event matches then I am all about it. Normally the Dinamitas would’ve just walked down to the ring; now they walk down to the ring with flames bursting out everywhere. That gets my seal of approval.

Other things that get my seal of approval; this match, though not by a lot. There was definitely a lot of effort put into this match (likely because of the Televisa deal) but unfortunately there was a little too much sloppiness at the end of each fall to keep it from reaching the next level. That and I suppose some of the more indy centric tendencies of this match (let’s just say Canadian Destroyers and a Tower of Doom spot made appearances). In the end though it was still a fun match. Carístico looked very pleased to be coming back to TV and was lights out throughout, while the Dinamitas were as consistent as ever. And it’s not like Mistico or Volador were bad themselves; they just weren’t as smooth as usual. Overall a very good main event, even if it should’ve been a little bit better.

About The Author

Eric Mutter is a straight edge nerd with a love for Pepsi and a punk rock song in his heart. His friends may or may not refer to him as Cult Icon (or Colt Iken when they're doing Scott Steiner impressions). He's also good at writing; or so I hear.

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